The Latest: Top Shiite cleric al-Sistani opposes Kurd vote

Iraq's top Shiite cleric has expressed opposition to the vote in an independence referendum held this week in Iraq's Kurdish region and disputed territories.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani says it "is an attempt to divide Iraq and take its northern part by setting up an independent state."

Al-Sistani's comments were the first by the top Shiite cleric since Monday's referendum.

In a statement read in the Shiite holy city of Karbala by cleric Ahmad al-Safi during Friday prayers, al-Sistani said all parties in Iraq should abide by the Iraqi constitution.

Al-Sistani warned that such "unilateral steps" toward dividing Iraq will lead to internal and external reactions that will have consequences on our "dear Kurdish citizens and could have more dangerous repercussion."

He called on Kurdish officials to return to the constitution.

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9:15 a.m.

An Iraqi government order that international airlines halt all flights in and out of the cities of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah will kick in Friday evening local time.

The move is due to tensions over an independence referendum held this week in Iraq's Kurdish region and disputed territories.

Iraq's Transport Ministry ordered international airlines to halt service to Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital, and Sulaimaniyah, its second city.

Regional airlines have said they will honor the flight ban.

The nonbinding referendum — in which the Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Iraq — was billed by Kurdish leaders as an exercise in self-determination. The idea of an independent state has been central to Kurdish politics for decades.